A Buddhist abbot, Sayadaw Khaemika, is recovering after being shot four times.

Sayadaw Khaemika is a relative and deputy of Myaing Gyi Ngu, or Sayadaw Thuzana, a founder of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army.

The incident occurred at an ordination ceremony on 10 March at Mae Pa-li village in Hlaing Bwe Township, otherwise known as the Myaing Gyi Ngu area.

Sayadaw Khaemika told DVB that he was shot from behind. “I was hit with three with shots at the waist and one at the back. I now have three bullets left to be removed. One bullet exited and entered near the base of my thigh. Of the three bullets that hit my back, one reached close to my liver. Now, three bullets are still in my stomach.”

Last week, the injured monk was taken to Rangoon, but Myaing Gyi Ngu insisted he be returned and treated at a monastic hospital in Hlaing Bwe Township. It is now expected that Sayadaw Khaemika will travel to Thailand to have the remaining bullets removed from his body.

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Fifty-two-year-old Sayadaw Khaemika has been ordained for 22 years, and was serving as abbot at the Swe Myat Myo Kywe monastery.

He told DVB that some local people were displeased, as he has been operating a school at Mae Pa-li village and building a monastery at Kawlon and Htoowahkaw.

Sayadaw Khaemika said he knows the identity of the people who shot him, but that does not want to reveal who they are, nor keep them in mind for retaliation.

“I don’t want to say anything about the event. This could be karma from past lives. I don’t want to blame anyone. We can never know what we did in past lives. These are the effects of things from the past. So I don’t want to blame anyone, or keep the event in my mind.”